Bluechiip Limited [ASX: BCT] which has developed a unique temperature sensing and tracking solution initially for cryogenic sample management in the healthcare and life science industry today announced that it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Gentris Corporation.

The strategic partnership will be focused on expanding Gentris' service model to include temperature tracking services.

Gentris, located in North Carolina, provides pharmacogenomics and biorepository support for all phases of clinical studies and genomic biomarker programs. Gentris collaborates with academic and industry leaders to translate innovations in pharmacogenomics into safer, more effective medicines, aimed at accelerated drug discovery and improvement in clinical treatment outcomes.

In addition to signing a strategic partnership agreement, Gentris has also signed up for Bluechiip's Early Adopter Program (EAP). This includes purchasing the trial bluechiip® solution, thereby assisting with the ongoing validation of the bluechiip® system.

Eric Hall, Vice President of Gentris' Biorepository Operations, said: "We believe the bluechiip technology offers bioreposititories and bioresource laboratories significant value via its ability to sense sample level temperature. This capability will allow Gentris to track the temperature of individual samples from time of collection to analysis, which improves our ability to evaluate and control the integrity of client samples. We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Bluechiip in the Early Adopter Program as we expand our biorepository service options."

L. Scott Clark, Gentris' Chief Scientific Officer, said: "The ability to understand sample-level temperature changes and trends in temperature across sample collections throughout the process chain and specimen lifecycle over time will be extremely valuable. This will lead to enhanced annotation of pre-analytical variables and improved identification of analytical artifacts that may occur due to changes in sample integrity. Prospectively measuring sample temperature will increase our confidence in the quality of samples analysed and improve our understanding of research findings and interpretation of downstream testing, i.e. gene expression and biomarker validation studies. Utilizing the bluechiip technology has the potential to positively impact research and clinical outcomes, not only in biobanking but also in pharmacogenomic trials."

Lisa Miranda, Bluechiip's Vice President Strategy and Business Development, said: "Bluechiip welcomes and looks forward to working with Gentris as a key strategic business partner. Gentris' technical and scientific expertise, vision, commitment to driving innovation and support of real-time, evidence-based biobanking practice was a key driver in its selection both as a strategic partner and as an early adopter to further test and validate our technology. As a former Bioresource Core Director, historical biobanker and advocate of evidence-based biobanking practice, I am confident of the value that the bluechiip® technology offers to bioresources across all sectors. Previous pilot trials have been positive, comprehensive, robust and extremely promising."

About Bluechiip Limited:

Bluechiip has developed a wireless tracking solution with temperature sensing capabilities for the healthcare and life science, security, defence and manufacturing industries which represents a generational change from current methods such as labels (hand-written and pre-printed), barcodes (linear and 2D) and microelectronic integrated circuit (IC)-based RFID (Radio Frequency Identification).

The unique tag is based on MEMS technology and contains no electronics. The tag can either be embedded or manufactured into a storage product, such as vials or bags. Easy identification, along with any associated information from the tag such as temperature can be detected by a reader, which can also sense the temperature of the tagged items. The traditional identification technologies have significant limitations. Whereas a barcode requires a visible tag or line-of-sight optical scan, bluechiip® technology does not. Unlike labels, barcodes and RFID, the bluechiip® technology can sense the temperature of each item a tag is attached to, or embedded in.

The bluechiip® temperature tracking technology has initial applications in the healthcare industry particularly those businesses which require cryogenic storage facilities (biobanks and biorepositories). bluechiip® offers the only technology that enables accurate and reliable temperature evaluation of biospecimens. In addition to autoclaving, gamma irradiation sterilization, humidification, centrifuging, cryogenic storage and frosting.

The bluechiip® technology has other healthcare applications in pathology, clinical trials and forensics. Several other key markets outside of healthcare include coldchain logistics/supply chain, security/defence, industrial/manufacturing and aerospace/aviation.

Founded in 2001, Gentris is located in Research Triangle Park, NC, where it provides pharmacogenomics and biorepository support for all phases of clinical studies and genomic biomarker programs. The Company works with academic and industry leaders to translate innovations in pharmacogenomics into safer, more effective medicines, which can lead to accelerated drug development and improvement in patient care globally. In the past year, Gentris significantly expanded its facility and onsite biorepository to meet the increased needs of biopharma clients, while maintaining a preeminent quality system.